Metal stacker tooth



March 11, 1958 s oR o 2,826,033

METAL STACKER TOOTH Filed April 28, 1955 JIIIIAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIA I a. k\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ ATTORNEYS 2,825,033 Patented Mar. 11, 1958 MLE'EAL STACKER TQICDTH:

Guy 1 Storrnont, Laurel, Mont.

ApplicahlonApril 28, 1955,.Serial No. 5%,613

2 Elairns. (El. StZ-40tl) The present inventionrelates to farm implements and more, particularly to an improved stacker tooth made of steelor other suitablemetal for hay stackers,.buck rakes, loaders, ,sweeps and like farm equipment.

Stacker teeth for such farm implements as rakes, sweeps and, hay stackers are. generally constructed about eight or nine feet long with a maximum cross section dimension not greater than about three. inches. Heretofore, such stacker teeth have almost universally been made-of wood and the most. common prior type in general use is an eight or nine foot wooden tooth approximately the same inshape and dimension. as the tooth shown in Figure 1 of" the drawings. Such wooden teeth have a number of disadvantages when. used'in the above farm implements. Wood warps; it is easily broken; and it wears out in use relatively soon. Also, since the teeth are very long, compared to their cross section dimensions, and are cantilever loaded, they cannot carry nearly as heavy a load as a comparable metal tooth, and thereby necessitate greater working time andlabor cost for a given job.

A metalstacker tooth, preferably made of steel, is ad vantageous over wooden teeth. because it eliminates the above problems. It is not only stronger, but has other advantages: hay slides easier on metals like steel and consequently is easier to load and unload; and if a steel tooth is bent it can be straightened and returned to service, whereas an overloaded wood tooth breaks and must be discarded.

Some etforts have been heretofore made to use steel stacker teeth. One steel tooth recently used to a limited extent is round and requires a special clamp to be mounted'no existing farm implements to replace prior wooden teeth, and it therefore has not gone into extensive use. Also these round steel teeth do not have adequate reinforcing at their butt ends where stress on the tooth is the greatestin loading. Further, if bent, they are considerably more difiicult to straighten out with a smooth surface compared to the improved tooth of the present invention; Also such round teeth are generally more expensiveto fabricate than the tooth of the present invention.

Another prior known type of steel tooth comprises an elongated open channel shaped member with a plurality of U-shaped brackets bolted tothe sides of the channel at longitudinally spaced intervals to reinforce the tooth. That prior type of stackertooth has a number of disadvantages compared to the tooth of the present invention. Among other things, the U-shaped bracket bracing of that tooth-is not only relatively expensive to produce, but itprovides no useful bracing of the elongated tooth along its longitudinal axis where it is most needed. Such stacker teeth act essentially as cantilever beams under load, and undergoa high tension force along the longitudinal axis, particularly at their mounted ends. All surfaces, top side, and bottom of the tooth, should be smooth for easy efiicient loading, as in the present invention, whereas in that prior steel stacker tooth they are not, so .that hay does .not slide easily andv catches cutting the overall etficiency of the farm implement on which the tooth is used. Thatprior type of tooth also does not include adequate bracing at the butt of the tooth where the stress under load is the greatest. It also has a substantially higher production cost because of its reinforcing construction, which is inferior tothe reinforcing principles applied in the present invention, and actually provides points of weakness under longitudinal tension where the U-shaped brackets are bolted to the sides of the channel forming the stick.

A primary purpose of thepresent invention is to pro vide a steel stick stacker tooth to replace the wooden stacker teeth currently in general widespread use to thereby eliminate the aforementioned'and other disadvantages of wooden teeth, and improve onthe above-described metal teeth heretofore known which have not been sufficiently satisfactory to replace the wooden stacker teeth that have been generally used in the aforementioned farm implements since their invention many. years ago. The steel stacker tooth of the present invention was put into commercial use a short time prior to the filing of this application and already has been usedon various types of loaders, buck rakes, and sweeps, and has proven itself superior to any other stacker teeth heretofore available. it has already enjoyed substantial commercial success, even though its commercial exploitation has just recently been undertaken.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a steel stick stacker tooth of high strength that will be adequate for all purposes for which it is intended, and can handle greater loads thanprior types of teeth, and thereby increases the overall efficiency of the farm implement on which it is used.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved steel. stacker tooth which fits virtually all types and kinds of existing farm implements usingsuch teeth and can be interchanged as a replacement part with the prior standard wooden teeth on such implements without modificatioin of the. machine or special mounting brackets for the teeth. It is a related object of the present invention to provide a steel stick stacker tooth that is easily and quickly mounted on themachine, and merely requires the drilling of an additionalhole to proper measurement to fit any stacker head in the same way as the prior tooth which it replaces.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a steel stacker tooth of such construction that all its surfaces are substantially smooth so that the hay slides easily on the stick and consequently is easier to load and unload, thereby improving the overall efiiciency of the machine.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a steel stick stacker tooth which has an improved superior welded construction that permits a certain'amount of flexibility in the unit; makes it easier to straighten the tooth for further use after accidental bending; and decreases cost of production.

It is still a further object of the presentinvention to provide a steel stick stacker tooth which has a low cost Wood reinforced construction adjacent'its mounted butt end where high stress under load is concentrated and maximum strength is required.

It is a related object of the present invention to provide a high strength steel stacker tooth of reinforced construction that is as light as possible, and has its reinforcing elements and a great percentage of its total Weight at the mounted butt end of the tooth, rather than at the forward-loaded end.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a steel stacker tooth in which a replaceable cast iron point is provided at its forward end to take up the maximum wear on the tooth, with the point being simply aseaoes D mounted on the tooth by a single rivet in such manner that it is reinforced by the steel tooth to prevent the cast point from breaking.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a steel stacker tooth having such a construction that it can be made without expansive special machinery or equipment at low cost with production techniques, even in relatively small quantities.

The above and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the claims herein and the following description thereof in connection with the drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a new improved steel stick stacker tooth according to the present invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the components of the tooth shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the tooth taken along line 33 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the reinforced butt end of the tooth taken along line 4-4 in Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the cast iron point provided on the forward end of the steel tooth in the completed tooth product.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown in Figure 1 a perspective view of a complete stacker tooth according to the present invention generally indicated by the numeral 10. This tooth comprises the steel tooth body generally indicated at 11, and a replaceable cast iron tooth point 12 at its free end.

Referring particularly to the exploded view in Figure 2, the tooth body 11 comprises a first tapered channelshaped section 14 formed from mild steel preferably of 15 gauge, a second similar, but slightly smaller, channelshaped section 16 formed from mild steel, preferably of u 15 gauge, and a tapered reinforcing wood block 18. The first channel-shaped section 141 includes a tapered web 20 and two tapered sides 22 and 24 of the same size. In a typical embodiment each of channel members 14 and 16 is either 8 or 9 feet long. The larger butt end of the web 20 is about 3 /2 inches in width, and the smaller forward end is about 1% inches in width. The larger ends of sides 22 and 2d at the butt end of the stick are about 1% inches in width, and the smaller forward ends are about 1 inch in width. The web 26 of channel section 16 is about 3% inches in width at its larger end at the butt of the stick and about 1% inches in width at the free end of the stick, and its sides 28 and 30 are approximately of an inch wide and preferably the same width throughout their len th to simplify construction and avoid waste of material. The wood reinforcing block 18, which is preferably made of fir from a standard two-by-four, tapers in thickness so that it corresponds to the shape of sides 28 and 22 and the butt end of channel member 14. Block 18 is preferably about 28 inches in length for a reason that will presently appear. In the assembled tooth body 11, the smaller channel section 16 fits flush inside the larger channel section 14, with the tapered wood reinforcing block 18 between them.

The edges of sides 22 and 24 of the larger channel 14 are welded to the smaller channel 26 by Welds 27 at the corner between the web and sides of the latter to form an integral stacker tooth body 11. Although the channel members 14 and 16 could be welded together by continuous welds extending along the entire length of the channels, they are preferably welded by a series of small spaced welds. In a typical preferred embodiment which has already proven very satisfactory, channels 14 and 16 are welded as follows: one inch welds spaced one inch apart for the first 28-29 inches from the enlarged butt end of the tooth body 11 as indicated by bracket a in Figure 2; 1 /2 inch welds at 1% inch intervals for about the next 3334 inches of the tooth body length as indicated by the bracket b; and inch welds with 2 inch spacing between them for the remaining length of the tooth at its forward end indicated in Figure 2 by the bracket marked 0. Such a construction using short welds at spaced points gives adequate strength to the stacker tooth 10 for any foreseeable use but provides a certain amount of flexibility so that the tooth is not too stiff or rigid. Further, with this construction, rupture of the metal and welds is localized in the event the tooth is accidentally bent, and this makes straightening and restoring of the tooth easier and more practical. Also the use of spaced welds saves welding time, and materials, particularly when the stacker tooth 10 is made in relatively low production quantities without automatic machinery, thereby keeping the cost of tooth of this invention low without sacrificing strength or any of its other desirable improved functional properties.

The tooth point 12 provided at the forward end of the improved tooth 10 is cast according to the configuration shown in Figure 5. A typical cast iron point 12 is about 6% inches long and the part of the tooth indicated at 35 in Figure 5 is slightly larger in dimensions than the forward open end of tooth body 11. To form I a complete stacker tooth 10, the cast iron point 12 is secured to the free end of the steel tooth body 11 by a single rivet 32 passing through the hole 34 adjacent the forward end of the tooth body 11 in such manner that the section 34 of cast iron point 12 covers the extreme forward open end of the steel tooth body 11 so that it need not otherwise be enclosed. The mounting of the cast iron point 12 on the steel point in the above manner causes the steel tooth 11 to add to the strength of the casting thereby minimizing breakage of the relatively brittle cast iron point 12 which takes the hardest wear in operation of the stacker, rake, sweep or like equipment on which the stacker tooth 10 is used.

Stacker tooth 10 is provided in production with one drilled hole 36 adjacent its butt end extending through the webs 2t) and 26 of channels 14 and 16 and the tapered block 18, as shown in Figure 2. The hole 36 is usually about /2 of an inch in diameter and preferably is spaced about two inches from the butt end of tooth 10. The various types of rakes, sweeps, and loaders now on the market have many diflerent ways of mounting the stacker teeth used in them, but in most of these machines the stick mounting means usually comprises a rearward and forward support having bolt-like fastener means, with the two supports and fastener means being spaced in different machines at varying distances ranging from about 10 /2 inches to 16 inches between centers. The hole 36 receives the rearward of these supports provided on the machine for mounting the stacker teeth. To mount the improved steel stacker tooth 10 of this invention on the machine, the purchaser (or seller) merely drills an additional forward hole at a distance from hole 36 corresponding to the distance between centers of the rearward and forward supports on the machinery, the same as he would with the prior art wooden stacker teeth. The tooth 10 is then secured on the spaced boltlike supports by means of nuts in conventional manner. All loads on the stacker tooth in a machine such as a rake, sweep or stacker are carried between the aforesaid forward machine support and the forward end of the stacker tooth so that the maximum stress on the tooth under load is at the point where the second forward hole is drilled in it in order to mount it on the machine. The tapered wood reinforcing block 18 provided in the improved stacker tooth 19 of the present invention extends 28 inches from its butt end to greatly increase the strength of the tooth 10 at the main point of stress when in use, and to make it possible to drill the necessary second mounting hole through the tooth without sacrificing much of its total strength. Since the wood filler block 18 is 28 inches long,

. it extend at least a foot beyond the forward point where the second mounting hole is drilled and maximum load is concentrated. As a result, block 18 not only strengthens the tooth at the forward mounting hole, but also strengthens it forwardly of that point in the area of main loading, thereby appreciably strengthening the remainder of the tooth. Moreover, the use of block 18 for reinforcing concentrates most of the weight of the tooth at its root and the forward section of the tooth where Weight is important remains as light as possible.

It is possible to manufacture the new improved tooth 10 of this invention in quantity with relatively little labor and low production cost. In predominantly rural sections of the country, it can be manufactured at low cost by small welding or machine shops, thereby decreasing the distribution, sales, and cost problems for a farm implement attachment of this type, and extending its market to such rural areas for maximum commercial exploitation.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the present invention provides a high strength light weight steel stick stacker tooth which can be substituted for the wooden stacker tooth long in general use in present machinery without modification of the machinery or special mounting bracket, and can be very simply and quickly mounted; that it provides a tooth having smooth surfaces throughout minimizing drag on the hay and preventing it from sticking, for more efficient and easier loading and unloading; that it provides a steel stick stacker tooth having an improved .superior low cost welded construction, with a highly effective but low cost reinforcing construction at its butt end Where high strength is required, and low weight at its free end where Weight should be at a minimum; that it includes a replaceable cast iron point to take wear, with a simplified mounting of the point in such manner that the steel tooth reinforces the casting against breakage; and that the novel improved steel stacker tooth of this invention with its numerous advantages over stacker teeth heretofore available, as above-pointed out, can be produced with production techniques without expensive special machinery so that it can be made at low cost even in relatively small quantities.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiment is therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not re- 6 strictive, the scope of the invention being indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description, and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

What is claimed and desired to be secured by United States Letters Patent is:

1. A stacker tooth adapted for use on farm machinery having bolt-like means for supporting and securing said tooth, comprising: an enclosed elongated metal tooth body including a first elongated channel-shaped section having a web and sides, a second elongated channel section having a web and sides fitting flush inside said first section with the insides of said webs facing each other; welds securing said channels to each other to form an enclosed tooth body; a reinforcing block inside said enclosed tooth construction adjacent the butt end thereof, the length of said reinforcing block being less than one half the length of the stacker tooth.

2. A stacker tooth adapted for use on farm machinery having existing means for supporting and securing such a tooth including an elongated enclosed metal tooth body comprising: a first elongated channel-shaped section having a web and sides, a second elongated channel-shaped section'having a Web and sides fitting flush inside said first section with the inside of the webs facing each other; a series of relatively short welds spaced along the length of said channel sections securing them together to form an integral enclosed smooth tooth body; and a reinforcing block of wood inside said tooth body at the butt end thereof, the length of said wood block being less than half the length of the tooth body.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 745,329 Coffey Dec. 1, 1903 911,017 Kouns Jan. 26, 1909 1,269,393 Cope June 11, 1918 2,679,721 Johnson June 1, 1954 FOREIGN PATENTS 701,457 France Jan. 7, 1931 618,642 Great Britain Feb. 24, 1949 

